Sparkle, Shirley, Sparkle!

I was waiting in the check-out line at the grocery store when I happened to glance at a display of DVDs standing just to the right of me. I ignore it most of the time since it is usually filled with DVDs of movie movies that never made it to any movie theater and collections of old television westerns from the 1950's but this time a pink case caught my eye. When I looked closer I saw it was a DVD from a Shirley Temple box set containing the movies Little Miss Marker (1934) and Now And Forever (1934). I grew-up watching Shirley Temple movies on Denver's channel 2 (KWGN) every Sunday afternoon and since Little Miss Marker happens to be one of my favorite Shirley Temple movies, I tossed it in my cart.

I watched it this weekend and realized why I enjoy it so much. It is because it isn't really a Shirley Temple movie, it was a movie with Shirley Temple in it. I have nothing against Shirley Temple, you only have to watch one of her movies to see how talented she was and how much the camera loved her. I just prefer her earlier movies since she is more natural in them. It is almost supernatural how quickly she learned to do just what her mother always told her to do right before she stepped in front of a motion picture camera- she sparkles. Below is a musical number from the movie Stand Up And Cheer (1934). Shirley Temple is five-years-old here and dancing with actor James Dunn.


Baby Take a Bow from Stand Up And Cheer (1934)